Mental health awareness is perhaps at an all-time high as we have had to navigate the many life changes we made in response to COVID-19. With this awareness, how it impacts our companies, and how we can all better support ourselves, and each other, I asked my friend, Phil Dixon, to weigh in. The founder and CEO of the Oxford Brain Institute, Phil has more than 30 years of experience in teaching leaders and managers ‘soft skills’ ranging from visioning and strategic planning to one-on-one coaching and conflict resolution. He has worked with some of the world’s largest companies including Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo! and Stanford Graduate School of Business. We are grateful that he has taken the time to share some insight with us for Perspectives Matter. -Jim Stuart

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH?

There is no agreed upon definition as to what we mean by “mental health.” The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

There is an equally useful description of emotional health on FamilyDoctor.org

“Emotional health is an important part of overall health. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They are able to cope with life’s challenges. They can keep problems in perspective and bounce back from setbacks. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships.

“Being emotionally healthy does not mean you are happy all the time. It means you are aware of your emotions. You can deal with them, whether they are positive or negative. Emotionally healthy people still feel stress, anger, and sadness. But they know how to manage their negative feelings. They can tell when a problem is more than they can handle on their own. They also know when to seek help from their doctor.

Recent research has shown that good mental health is strongly linked to and integrated with good health in other health dimensions such as physical health and spiritual health. For example, if we look at the following “usual suspects” that enhance physical health, it turns out that they also enhance mental health.

• Physical activity – includes strength, flexibility, and endurance
• Nutrition and diet – includes nutrient intake, fluid intake, and healthy digestion
• Alcohol and drugs – includes the abstinence from or reduced consumption of these substances
• Medical self-care – includes addressing minor ailments or injuries and seeking emergency care as necessary
• Rest and sleep – includes periodic rest and relaxation, along with high quality sleep

In addition, aspects that increase spiritual health also increase mental health.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach in terms of attaining mental health; each of us is different in what we require to keep mentally healthy. Perhaps the most important part is knowing yourself, what makes you tick, what triggers you and what causes you stress, both socially and at work. Once you understand those things, you can tailor your own approach to mental health and stress management.

MENTAL HEALTH, STRESS AND SLEEP

It might also be useful to take a moment to review why it is important to understand mental health and stress management. Let’s just take two aspects: stress and sleep.

First, stress. It’s long been known that chronic stress does bad things to our bodies. More recently, we have discovered that it also does bad things to our brains. Our brains have about 86 billion neurons, each of them connected to tens of thousands of other neurons. Think of it like the Internet in your head.

One way of measuring brain health is to look at the length of those neurons and the number of connections they have with other neurons. Stress impacts three important areas of the brain:

• The pre-frontal cortex is the center of all its executive functions; for example, rational thinking, prioritizing, empathy and self-control
• The hippocampus is the center of memory and learning
• The amygdala is the focus of our response to stress – it’s like a sentry on duty constantly monitoring for threats in our environment

Under chronic stress – typically defined as two weeks or more of continual stress – we can measure that the length of the neurons in the pre-frontal cortex and the hippocampus shrinks and their number of connections is reduced. This means that executive functioning and memory and learning are reduced in their effectiveness. Not something that we really want to have happen to us. On the other hand, under stress the length and the connections of the neurons in the amygdala increase. It’s as if this sentry has taken another ten shots of expresso in order to become even more vigilant. That means we become even more susceptible to stress when we have already been stressed for a long while.

The good news is that, if we take the stress away, the pre-frontal cortex and the hippocampus tend to go back to normal. The bad news is that the amygdala doesn’t. It stays at that increased level of alertness.

So. The bottom line? Find a way of managing your stress before it has its effects.

Now let’s take a brief look at the effect of sleep. Lack of sleep has a direct impact on us, the very next day. Those three parts of the brain that we talked about above are all affected. We tend to be slower at decision making, become more irrational, have less empathy with others, can’t remember as much and are generally more lethargic. Chronic lack of sleep exacerbates all of these issues and more. In addition, there are longer term issues associated with chronic lack of sleep – it appears that there is a greater chance of overall cognitive decline and an increased chance of dementia.

What’s the right amount of sleep? There are two schools of thought. One, is that we all need approximately 8 hours. The other is that it is different for all of us and can range from 4 or 5 to as much as 10. In general, research shows that most of us don’t get enough. And the “I’ll catch up at the weekend” approach still causes damage.

So. The bottom line? Understand your own need for sleep and arrange regular routines so that you get the right amount for you.

It also turns out that, not surprisingly, there’s a mutual impact between stress and sleep. If we are stressed, it is often more difficult to sleep, and if we have had a bad night’s sleep, things stress us more. As luck would have it, there is a way to break out of that cycle. Research shows that if you focus on positivity and maintaining a positive attitude, it is easier to sleep and to manage stress.

PROTECTION, PARTICIPATION AND PREDICTION TO COMBAT THREATS

One last comment about the brain and stress. Our brains are driven by threats. To be more precise, they are driven by threats and rewards. Why that is, is a longer story. Suffice it to say, at this point, that there are a lot of things that cause the brain to perceive threats and what threatens one person’s brain doesn’t necessarily threaten that of another person. At least, not to the same degree. Some people have a high need to work with other people, yet others don’t have the same need. Some people deal with change much more easily than others. Some people are worried about exactly what is going to happen next, and others just let what happens roll over them. We are all different in what makes our brains feel threatened.

For the people who need to work with others, sending them home to work in isolation puts their brain under a major threat. For the people who don’t deal well with change, changing the way that they work puts their brain under major threat. For people who need to know what is going to happen next, dealing with any level of uncertainty, ambiguity or doubt puts their brains under major threat.

Experts have identified nearly fifty dynamics that cause one or more of us to feel threatened. These fifty can be divided into three ‘buckets.’

The first bucket is our need to feel protected. We want to know that we are safe. We want to feel physically safe, emotionally safe and financially safe. We want to be treated fairly. We want to know where we stand.

The second bucket is our need for participation. We are social animals and, to a large degree, we enjoy interaction with other people. We want to know that we are accepted into, and approved by, our group – especially a group of people who are important to us. We want to know that our voice is heard, and our opinions are taken into account. And we want to avoid looking stupid in front of our family, friends and peers.

The third of the buckets is prediction. Our brains want to know what is going to happen next. We want to have some sense of control over our lives. We want to know what is expected of us. We want to know what is going on.

Any given dynamic can cause our brains to respond to perceived threats. Let’s take the example of being sent home to work in self-isolation. To some people that is a direct threat to their brain. They like being around people and feel uneasy when they are not. In addition, it is a change. Once again, to some people that is also a threat to their brain. What about the person whot really needs to know what’s going on, and gets their information from water-cooler talk? Again, their brains are likely to feel very threatened.

So, just the act of having people work from home, can put some people into a heightened threat state.

Now let’s pile on yet more things. Let’s add the concept that there is a virus that has the potential of being a real danger to all of us. Once again, for people with a high need to know what is going on, the uncertainty or not knowing can put their brains into a threat state.

Now let’s add in a resultant economic threat.

If you take all of these threats or potential threats and add them together … well, that’s what’s going on in our brains as we work at home and listen or read about COVID-19.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

We can start by recognizing that our brains are reacting exactly the way they were designed to: to detect danger and respond to it. If we can dig a little deeper and understand what it is that causes us personally to feel threatened, that helps. We are not all the same and what helps one person, might not help another. Understanding the specifics of what threatens you, is another good step to managing your own stress.

When our brains feel threatened, they don’t tend to behave logically. We tend to have more fear and worst-case based responses and less rational ones.

It is quite common for people, especially at this time of the year, to make resolutions to do something different, and very often they are associated with the “usual suspects” that we mentioned earlier. It is also beneficial, however, to take a look at other things that might stretch our brains. To that end I have enclosed a list of activities that have been shown to have a positive impact on our brain.

Phil Dixon

Tom van Betten joined Matter Real Estate Group to pursue his passion for commercial real estate after 20 years of leading his own brokerage practice. As Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Tom brings partners, brokers and tenants together, relying on decades of multi-faceted experience to cover every corner of the business. Through every transaction, Tom creates strategies that benefit everyone involved. A former top-performing broker, he has honed his skills guiding some of North America’s leading companies into new facilities.

Ever since the character Blake in Glengarry Glen Ross famously exclaimed, “Put the coffee down, coffee is for closers,” I have been intrigued by the intensity of the “sales floor.” As I entered the commercial real estate business right out of college, I was given a phone and a list of names to try and schedule meetings. I remember fumbling over my cold calls, trying to stay focused in a noisy room with paper notes everywhere.

Office environments have evolved over the years, but COVID-19 will change the approach to sales forever. The pandemic will have widespread implications on your sales force, these are the ways I see it impacting on both the process and the office spaces that sales forces utilize.

Selling During COVID-19

When COVID-19 hit, many sales programs had to quickly implement or even develop a crisis strategy. Of course, the firms that had robust digital infrastructure were steps ahead, and the real winners were the ones that could show clients a path to profitability (yes, profitability), not just cost savings. An example would be cross-leveraging a digital branding opportunity at a low cost for a client because the sales team connected the dots. Creativity has never been as important as a tool in your sales chest as it is now.

Traditional tactics such as events, trade shows and expos are not available now, and likely will not be for the foreseeable future. Even taking a client out for a good steak is not as easy or safe right now, as different clients have varied levels of comfort about meeting in person. How can salespeople connect with their client or prospect in any kind of meaningful way? We have found that the move from in person to digital not only can work, but can be the rare opportunity for a “one-to-many” presentation. Webinars and other online presentations can be efficient and interesting; however, this cannot be an infomercial or nobody will show up. This is thought leadership. This is not regurgitating the same information you’ve heard or presented again and again. This is putting some effort into aggregating some people or content that can be of value to a customer, even if no direct sale is made. This is relationship building in a bubble. Add value now and you will be remembered.

Selling After COVID-19

Technology! I know this is the de facto answer to everything, but COVID-19 has magnified its importance. While waiting for vaccinations to happen across the world, this is the perfect time to revamp your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and get 100% buy-in from peers and leadership before everybody is too busy again. Now is the time to stop relying on outdated legacy technology and move into the future with confidence.

That same technology should help you sell online in an attractive and efficient manner. Efficiency is going to be a key factor of success going forward, as we all realized working from home. A sales team can’t burn up minutes and hours chasing people and documents around. I was recently contacted by three salespeople from the same national data provider. I was thinking how frustrating it must be to not even share a database in today’s world! Have the difficult “territory” conversation now and set up equitable battle stations for salespeople to fairly focus on clients and beat the competition.

It’s time to give the desktop computer to Goodwill and gear up the team with a laptop and quality webcam. This will allow mobilized sales forces to meet online and collaborate when not in the office.

Business travel will come back. There is no substitution for a face-to-face meeting to build trust and complete a business transaction. However, the travel costs will require that trip to be the “silver bullet” or the one chance to win or save the business. How can that one trip in the future be that much more fruitful? Better presentations, images, flowcharts, metrics, case studies, etc.  What else can you do while you are there? Use this time now to prepare for Fall 2021, when all signs are that sales will be “game on!”

Offices will also come back. As we anticipated, our study from earlier this year showed that people miss going to the office. Several more recent surveys show over 70% of people want to return to the office at some level. People miss collaboration and human interaction. Experts believe that many offices may choose to change the days of a week required to be in the offices, but there will not be any change in the space needed for offices. The dedensification to create physical distancing will be offset by a more mobile workforce. Sales teams will need creative ways to communicate with their prospects, as sales call “drop ins” may not be available and, even if you are allowed in, you may miss the key contact.

Successful sales forces have always been on the cutting edge of trends – be it technology, psychology and more – and this year will be no different. We have the opportunity to redefine what sales and sales roles look like and should be excited about what’s ahead in the next 6-9 months.

Tom van Betten is vice president of strategic relationships at Matter Real Estate Group, the developer behind www.uncommons.com.

1. People:

Yes, people! Oh happy hours, lunches and office brainstorming sessions with our colleagues, how we’ve missed you. There’s nothing quite like having a white board up on a wall for all to see and collectively gather the latest and greatest ideas. Or wandering into a colleague’s office to go over plans and reports. We miss human contact and particularly in-person collaboration, so ‘people’ are at the top of our list of things we are most looking forward to.

2. The New 9-5:

Whether we have enjoyed it or not, we learned in 2020 (it’s hard now, even to type these numbers) that many of us CAN work from home. We can be accountable, we can keep a normal schedule and we can save time on our commutes. With this insight, we believe employers will have greater flexibility moving forward in how to approach the workweek. It might be “work from home Fridays” or a staggered schedule to allow a mix of work at the office and at home. It might be a policy that allows parents to pick up their kids from school and finish their work from home, or it might mean taking a break from a bustling workplace to work from home, or vice versa, to better focus on projects that require more concentration,

3. Mental Health is Now Top of Mind:

Isolation, job insecurity, and too much time around your spouse and family are all factors that have led to mental health crises for many. Prior to this past year (let’s not mention the year by name, again), mental health was dealt with privately. Sure, mental health may be covered by your company’s health plan, but you weren’t actually speaking to your boss or employees about it. This past year, we’ve found that people have been much more inclined to talk about their mental health and even communicate their need to seek help with their employer. We believe this openness will continue to be normalized as we go into the new year and, let’s face it, nothing ever gets resolved when you sweep it under the rug. We are also seeing a greater degree of access to mental health professionals with online therapy services like Talkspace, which now accepts payment from many insurance providers.

4. Extra Family Time:

While we have found that trying to be a teacher to your six-year-old while still managing a busy workload leads to an incredible amount of stress (see #3, ahem), we have found that we like the extra time with our spouses, kids and lovable pets. We are more aware that time is short and that we don’t really want our jobs to keep us from school plays or baseball games. We now recognize that we can be more flexible with our work week and that can allow for leaving work early to be there for our family, plus we now know that we have the tools to finish off the workday at home later in the evening.

5. Less Travel:

For many of us, video meetings were rare pre-COVID. We may have even found them to be a bit hokey. Meetings on Zoom and Microsoft Teams are now a part of the day-to-day workplace, and we have found that in many instances, they CAN replace face-to-face contact. While business travel will not be dead, it will certainly be less frequent. Plus, while there’s nothing quite like meeting in person for collaboration, we believe that video meetings will remain popular in a post-COVID workplace and will alleviate travel demands for a lot of people. That’s good news for many of us who have described our jobs as “living on a plane.”

6. Vaccinations:

Much of our return to the office will hinge on vaccinations – who has been vaccinated, and who hasn’t. There will even be events, conventions, and other activities that will require vaccinations. Your employer may even require that you be vaccinated before you return to the office. Skeptical about vaccinations? We think employers will continue to offer video meetings and work from home options for those who want to wait… at least, for now. With that, we will see a need for employers and employment law to help us navigate solutions for employees who don’t want to be vaccinated in 2021, and likely beyond this upcoming year.

7. Expansion of Wellness Programs:

The stressors of this past year have been through the roof. In addition to encouraging employees to seek support through therapists, group counseling, etc., employers will be encouraging employees to take care of their wellness while at the office. Ways to implement such programs might include a time set, daily, for afternoon walks – knowing that sunlight, exercise and fresh air are key to help fight depression; as well as the development of onsite physical fitness classes and gyms as well as other activities, like running, while at the office.

8. A New Office:

While we are all thrilled to have vaccines rolling out, we are also keenly aware that we want to work in office spaces that limit the spread of bacteria and provide personal spaces. At the same time, we want to feel inspired, plus we want our teams to feel inspired. Expect to see better HVAC systems, operable windows and hand sanitizers in public spaces, plus new policies in common areas like kitchens and conference rooms. There will be a reconfiguration of the bullpen as we touched on in an earlier blog, plus new furniture layouts that support activity-based work where you can find quiet areas to focus. Areas for collaboration will provide a more kinetic environment. Many older offices will be forced to remodel to support the vitality the modern workforce craves away from home.

9. Healthcare:

Healthcare has been a major issue for employers and employees since the Affordable Care Act. COVID-19 will have lasting implications on companies and the types of healthcare plans available to employees. Companies know that the price of healthcare is high, but not as high as the price of unhealthy employees. We expect to see greater attention to the types of healthcare available to employees, as well as programs that are focused on prevention.

10. Elevated Customer Service:

One of our New Year’s resolutions is to do more to show our customers and clients how much we appreciate them. Without their business, this past year would not have been possible. While communicating through masks and limits on in-person contact have kept us physically separated, we have been reminded to not take our customers and clients for granted. We are reminded of all those lessons our parents taught us – to treat others as we want to be treated and to always say please and thank you. We are reminded that we are all human beings.